Social networks are great tools for introducing and managing connections and referrals among professionals. Existing contact networks generally allow users to share contacts and/or openly view other users' profiles and related contact information. In this regard, the information that is shared is openly available such that the users are identified by their name, position, and other personally identifiable information.
Although some systems allow users to set privacy settings, limiting profile views, to many professionals, can still present privacy and confidentiality concerns. Additionally, current privacy and security regulations may present legal constraints (e.g., EU data protection regulation). Thus, an improved system and method for making connections is needed. In this regard, the invention described herein addresses this problem.